Ken Borland

The departure of Jake White has been dealt with and the Cell C Sharks team is fully focused on the vital Absa Currie Cup match against the Xerox Golden Lions at King’s Park tonight, according to the coach Brad Macleod-Henderson.

The meeting with the high-riding Lions is crucial for the Sharks because defeat will end their hopes of hosting a semi-final.

“The news about Jake broke on Monday and we had a team meeting and that issue has now been dealt with. We all know it’s a huge game against the Lions and the focus is now on that,” Macleod-Henderson told The Citizen yesterday.

The Sharks received good news yesterday with Kyle Cooper passing a fitness test on his knee and the experienced hooker will be important in the scrums, where the Sharks will have to match the powerful Lions unit, and the lineouts, where the KwaZulu-Natalians have been the form team in the Currie Cup.

“In the last couple of games, the lineout has worked very well for us, but we want to put pressure on the Lions all over the field. We want to limit their opportunities to get the ball because they’re not shy to attack, even from their own half. There will always be opportunities for us to move our ball or kick the ball, and we want to get the balance right,” Macleod-Henderson said.

The excellence of the Sharks’ lineout, led by veteran Marco Wentzel and now featuring another Springbok in Stephan Lewies, has caused Lions coach Johan Ackermann to field Willie Britz, who has regularly played lock for the Gautengers, at eighthman.

“The more lineout options we have the better because then we’ll be under less pressure. The Sharks have an old head there in Marco Wentzel and he has been one of the best lineout jumpers for a long time. Lewies is a Springbok as well, so it’s a quality lineout and Willie Britz will be important for us,” Ackermann said yesterday.

The Lions coach is certainly expecting the forwards to be the big workers tomorrow night and has once again named a complete front row on the bench, with the versatility of Mark Richards, Howard Mnisi and even Kwagga Smith enabling him to go for a five-two split.

But Ackermann is also keen on his team maintaining their attacking mindset and the instinctive, energetic linking play between forwards and backs that has served them so well.

The Sharks have also been producing good all-round rugby and the stage is set for one of the most intriguing clashes of the season.

Teams
Sharks: 15-SP Marais, 14-S’bura Sithole, 13-Paul Jordaan, 12-Andre Esterhuizen, 11-Lwazi Mvovo, 10-Lionel Cronje, 9-Cameron Wright, 8-Tera Mtembu, 7-Etienne Oosthuizen, 6-Jacques Botes, 5-Marco Wentzel, 4-Stephan Lewies, 3-Lourens Adriaanse, 2-Kyle Cooper, 1-Thomas du Toit. Replacements – 16-Monde Hadebe, 17-Dale Chadwick, 18-Matt Stevens, 19-JC Astle, 20-Khaya Majola, 21-Conrad Hoffmann, 22-Fred Zeilinga.

Lions: 15-Andries Coetzee, 14-Ruan Combrinck, 13-Lionel Mapoe, 12-Stokkies Hanekom, 11-Courtnall Skosan, 10-Marnitz Boshoff, 9-Ross Cronje, 8-Willie Britz, 7-Warwick Tecklenburg, 6-Jaco Kriel, 5-Franco Mostert, 4-Martin Muller, 3-Ruan Dreyer, 2-Robbie Coetzee, 1-Schalk van der Merwe. Bench – 16-Armand van der Merwe, 17-Julian Redelinghuys, 18-Jacques van Rooyen, 19-Derick Minnie, 20-Kwagga Smith, 21-Mark Richards, 22-Howard Mnisi.

Jake White is on his way from Sharks rugby after just one year and the smart money is on the 2007 World Cup winner re-emerging in a consultancy position with some team playing in next year’s edition of the global showpiece.

White has always stated his prime goal is to return to coaching an international team, something Sharks CEO John Smit acknowledged yesterday in announcing the move, but the departure is not on as amicable terms as the statement suggested.

The director of rugby’s tenure has been on rocky ground since the Sharks board took exception to the unpopular style of play used in SuperRugby, with an over-reliance on kicking and territory, and the former schoolteacher has also reportedly had bust-ups with junior players at the union.

“Jake and I have known each other a long time and were very frank in our discussions regarding this Sharks opportunity back in 2013, Jake was excited to implement change as well as be involved with South Africa’s most talented squad, but from the outset stated his ambition to be on the international stage again and I was all too happy to have him for however long we could. What he has achieved for us in such a short time is incredible and our staff and players have learned a huge amount,” Smit said in the statement.

The captain of White’s 2007 World Cup-winning Springbok team praised White for the culture he had installed at the Sharks and his work in developing structures for both the leading players and those coming through the system.

“Jake was also tasked to up-skill the young coaches as well as tidy up all rugby structures across the board from our academy all the way to our senior team. Initially it was thought this would take some time. However, being allowed to concentrate on these tasks during the Absa Currie Cup has fast-tracked the process and we can happily say our SuperRugby squad is in place and our pre-season plan ready to go.

“The mentoring role Jake has played to our coaches has been invaluable and the time is right for Jake to free himself up for any international coaching and consulting opportunities. The 2015 Rugby World Cup is just months away,” Smit said.

White has a very good relationship with Japan coach Eddie Jones, the former Wallabies mentor who he brought in as a consultant to South Africa’s triumphant 2007 campaign. Jones recently suffered a stroke, plus Japan are in the same pool as South Africa, of whom White obviously has intimate knowledge. The Japan Rugby Union are also well off financially, so paying for a consultant of White’s pedigree would not be a problem.

White has confirmed that he will be moving back to Cape Town, prompting speculation that he might be lining up a role with the Stormers. But this would be highly unlikely, given that current coach Allister Coetzee has steered his team to the top of the Currie Cup log and they already have a high-profile director of rugby in Gert Smal, who was White’s assistant with the Springboks.

Plus the brand of rugby White introduced at the Sharks will not go down well with the Newlands faithful.

The doors at King’s Park could well be opening for someone like Gary Gold, who was the Springbok forwards coach from 2008-2011, during the Peter de Villiers era, and someone who worked well with Smit.

However, if the decision is not left entirely to the CEO and the Sharks board want to be actively involved in recruiting White’s successor, then former All Black and Gauteng Lions coach John Mitchell is already in KwaZulu-Natal as the head of University of KZN rugby.

Continuity has always counted for a huge amount with Sharks director of rugby Jake White, so it’s no surprise that Currie Cup coach Brad Macleod-Henderson employs the same strategy, rewarding the team that so impressively beat the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld with just one injury-enforced change for Saturday’s match against the EP Kings in Durban.

Flank Jacques Botes is the only player to miss out on selection, with the veteran suffering from a sprained shoulder joint. His place in the number six jersey will be taken by Khaya Majola, a product of Westville Boys’ High and a member of the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship-winning SA U20 side.

It will be the 22-year-old’s first start after making his debut off the bench last weekend in Pretoria.

There are two changes to the bench with Springbok lock Stephan Lewies returning after an injury-enforced intermission, while scrumhalf Conrad Hoffman is also fully fit again and replaces Hanco Venter amongst the replacements.

Although the Kings are propping up the bottom of the log after seven straight defeats, Sharks forwards coach Paul Anthony is expecting a full-on onslaught from the visitors.

“EP Kings will be difficult because they have nothing to lose, they can play as they want, with some sort of freedom. There won’t be any pressure on them, so we need to settle down, focus and go hard at them. We have to play well and have a good game, we have to man up defensively and we just have to keep winning,” Anthony said.

A climb to second place in the standings is not totally out of the question for the Sharks: if the Lions slip up against Griquas in Kimberley and the KwaZulu-Natalians secure a big bonus-point victory against the Kings, then the rapid improvement in log position will continue for Macleod-Henderson and his team.

Team: 15-SP Marais, 14-S’bura Sithole, 13-Paul Jordaan, 12-Andre Esterhuizen, 11-Lwazi Mvovo, 10-Lionel Cronje, 9-Cameron Wright, 8-Tera Mtembu, 7-Etienne Oosthuizen, 6-Khaya Majola, 5-Marco Wentzel, 4-JC Astle, 3-Lourens Adriaanse, 2-Kyle Cooper, 1-Dale Chadwick. Replacements – 16-Franco Marais, 17-Danie Mienie, 18-Stephan Lewies, 19-Johan Meyer, 20-Conrad Hoffmann, 21-Tim Swiel, 22-Tonderai Chavhanga.